A Bully And A Troublemaker
by SilverySparks
Summary: That Potter boy is a show-off, and a troublemaker of the worst kind. But he's just so gorgeous... Jily Oneshot.


Lily Evans was sitting in the Gryffindor common room, poring over her History of Magic essay. Professor Binns had requested a full fifteen inches of parchment on the reign of King Alaric the Aggressive. It was due the following day, and, very uncharacteristically for her, Lily had forgotten all about it. It was late, and the common room was deserted.

Lily had just crossed out her final sentence once more – she always struggled with the conclusions – when the portrait hole opened and a tall, lean, black-haired and scarlet-robed figure scrambled through. It flinched when it saw Lily sitting by the fire.

"Lily! I mean, Evans. I- Hi," said James Potter. "What are you doing here?"

Lily looked at him with raised eyebrows. "This my common room, Potter. What were you doing outside at this time of night?"

"I… uh… was training. Quidditch. You know, for the game this weekend."

Lily scrutinized him. He sure was handsome with his dark brown eyes and his messy hair… _No_. She pulled herself together. He was a bully, and a troublemaker. God knew what he had been doing this evening, but it couldn't have been Quidditch. When James Potter went out at night, it was never for such an innocent purpose. Besides, he could practice Quidditch all day, there was no reason to do it in the middle of the night. Unless…

"Practice didn't go too well today, did it?" Lily asked.

"No, it was… it was fine. We're definitely going to flatten Ravenclaw on Saturday!" James said, with a feeble attempt at his usual boastful manner.

"No, it wasn't fine," Lily replied flatly. "I was there. I saw."

"You _what_? You watched me – I mean, us?" James looked as if he didn't know whether to be flattered or horrified.

"Of course I watched. My friend Alison is on the team, too, remember?"

"Oh," James said, his expression sobering up a little. "Oh, yes, of course."

"You really can't bear the thought of losing, can you?" Lily said. "Hence the midnight practice?"

James blushed and looked at his feet. "Well… you saw me at practice today," he mumbled. "I don't want to lose us the Quidditch Cup."

Lily looked at him exasperatedly. "With the points standing as they are, you'd have to lose by more than four hundred points to lose the cup. This is about you losing a game."

"Well, can you blame me?" James asked her. "I've never lost a game in my life!"

"I know," Lily snapped. "And to be honest I believe it's about time you did!"

There was a moment of silence, during which James shifted and fidgeted uncomfortably, trying hard not to stare at Lily, while Lily hastily scribbled down the first concluding sentence that came to her mind – without noticing that it was exactly the same as the one she had crossed out before.

"So… what _are_ you doing?" James asked finally. "Sorry about earlier, by the way. It was just… I didn't expect to run into anyone, that's all."

Lily looked up. Since when did James Potter apologize for anything, especially something as insignificant as a hasty remark? "Oh, forget it," she said quickly. "I'm writing my History of Magic essay."

A shocked expression appeared on James's face. "History of Ma- it's due in tomorrow, isn't it? Oh no. Oh _no_! I haven't even started it!"

Lily raised her eyebrows. "You hardly ever do your homework. Why is this one such a big deal?"

James looked at her, utter desperation in his eyes. "I didn't hand in the last three pieces of homework, so if I don't do this one either I'm bound to get detention… _tomorrow evening_!"

"So?"

"It's Friday! It's the last day before the match!" James cried, a hint of panic in his voice. "It's our last chance to train, you saw us at practice today, Ravenclaw's gonna tear us apart if we don't get our issues sorted out, and how are we supposed to do that without me? I'm the bloody _captain_!"

His eyes fell on Lily's now finished essay. "You… I hate to ask this, but you wouldn't let me copy, would you?" he said, internally preparing himself for the angry outburst he knew would follow. Asking Lily Evans for her homework never ended well… at least not for him.

Lily eyed him coldly. "You 'hate to ask this'?" she inquired sternly. "Since when do you hate to ask for homework?"

"Don't get mad at me," James pleaded. "I'll never ask you again, I swear, but I _need_ this homework!"

James Potter, _pleading_? Lily took it as a sign of severe distress. She looked at him standing forlornly in the middle of the common room, his usual expression of annoying self-confidence replaced by one of extreme anxiety, his beautiful brown eyes looking imploringly down at her from beneath his tousled black ha-

"Oh, for God's sake, _fine_ ," Lily replied exasperatedly – though she wasn't sure whether she was annoyed at James or at herself. She slid her essay across the table as James sat down in the armchair opposite her.

"Evans, I love you," James said as he took out his own parchment. "You're a lifesaver, honestly. I-"

He stopped when he realised what he had said. Immediately, his cheeks turned as scarlet as his Quidditch robes. "I-" he said feebly, without a clue what he could possibly say next. Lily was simply looking at him.

Seized by a sudden rush of reckless bravery, he decided on the truth.

"Evans," he said, taking a deep breath. "Lily. I know I'm not exactly your favourite person in the world. I know I've been a git to your friend Sniv- Snape. I know I've bothered you a couple of times. I know I'm in trouble a lot. I know I shouldn't have turned Perkins's eyebrows blue in Transfiguration. I know-" He dimly realised he was rambling, and forced himself to stop. "Anyway. The thing is… I love you."

Lily stared at him. Severus had told her that James fancied her, but she had discarded that as pure jealousy on his part. And Potter _had_ asked her out several times, but always half-heartedly, shouting his invitation after her in front of a crowd.

But like most bullies, James Potter was a lot quieter when he was alone.

Yet he was still a bully. She might not be friends with Severus anymore, but she did dislike the way Potter treated him. And he was just… just…

...gorgeous. Much as she tried to convince herself that she wasn't, that she _couldn't_ be attracted to a person like James Potter, she just couldn't make herself believe it.

"James," she said. He looked up, and her treacherous heart insisted on fluttering like a hummingbird at the anxiety mixed with hopefulness she saw in his eyes. "James, I can't go out with you. What kind of girl would I be if I went out with the guy who bullies my former best friend?"

James's heart leapt as he heard the words ' _former_ best friend'. She wasn't friends with Snivellus anymore? That was more than he had ever dreamed of! Still… "I'll stop bullying him," he promised, placing his hand on his heart. "I swear. I won't harm a hair on his head if you will go out with me."

Lily looked up at him. If she said yes, she would actually be doing Sev a favour, she told herself. She wouldn't be going out with his bully, she would _stop_ the bullying _and_ go out with the boy she liked. It would be great for everyone.

Ignoring the faint feeling of guilt that lurked somewhere in the back of her mind she raised her eyes and said, "Yes."


End file.
